1. Field of the Invention
The subject of the invention is a case for holding elongate objects, in particular, a case for holding drills or other elongate tools or similar items.
Insofar as the present description of the invention mentions a “drill case”, this is not to be understood as a restriction. The invention relates to a all cases suitable for holding elongate objects and having one holding part or a plurality of holding parts for this type of elongate objects, wherein upon opening of the lid the case is automatically pivoted upwards to offer the objects for removal.
When the description of the later exemplary embodiment calls the elongate objects “drills”, this is not to be understood as a restriction. The invention therefore relates to all elongate objects suitable to be kept in a case of this type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A case described above for holding elongate objects has become known to the art, for example, with the subject of the patent application DE 1 955 897 A1. Herein, a container for twist drills with a lid is described wherein two pivotable holding parts are pivoted inward into the interior when the case is closed and outward when the lid is being opened.
The two holding parts are interconnected by means of a spring so that they are pivoted by spring force into their open position when the lid is opened. When the lid closes, on the other hand, the spring force of the said two holding parts has to be overcome and they have to be manually held down while the lid is being closed, in order to succeed in closing the case.
A disadvantage of the said arrangement therefore lies in the complex manipulation and, coincidentally, in the risk that if the lid is not completely closed, the two spring-loaded holding parts act against the lid in the direction of opening thus opening the case unintentionally.
With the subject of the patent application DE 82 21 225 U1, an additional case of the type described above has become known to the art, wherein, however, fixed holding parts are provided, said holding parts being firmly integrated in the lid and pivoted therewith.
There is therefore the disadvantage that the elongate objects held therein are only accessible with difficulty when the case is opened. In this instance, it is required to reach into the cavity in the lid, in order to pull the objects upward and out. This means increased complication of operation.
With the subject of the patent application DE 38 37 829 C1, an additional case for storing elongate objects has become known to the art, wherein a plurality of holding parts is provided, said holding parts being disposed on a common pivoting axis and firmly connected to one another, wherein the holding part closest to the lid has a coupling to the pivotable part of the lid.
In this way, the advantage is obtained that when the lid of the case is opened, the holding parts are pivoted into a widely fanned position for the removal of objects, thereby making the objects to be removed easy to reach.
A disadvantage, however, lies in the fact that the case cannot be expanded without difficulty, since the holding parts form a single pivoting axis and are mounted rotatably on the said pivoting axis. It is therefore not possible, for example, to take out one holding part and to exchange it for another or to use more than three holding parts, because the holding parts described are all mounted in one common axis.
When using a larger number of holding parts (e.g. 3 holding parts as shown in the patent application DE 38 37 829 C1), the additional advantage arises that a relatively high pivoting weight acts upon the single pivoting axis of the holding parts, when the holding parts are loaded up with particularly heavy objects. In this process, the pivoting axis is stressed in a particular way and has to be designed with large dimensions. It therefore also is subject to a certain wear.
Furthermore, the manufacturing cost of a case of this type is relatively high, because it is made of a metallic material, which makes it particularly costly to manufacture. The holding parts all have lateral tongues located together on the single pivoting axis. This also leads to high manufacturing cost for the holding parts.
Another disadvantage coincidentally lies in the fact that the holding parts described are riveted into the single pivoting axis so that the holding parts are connected to the housing shell of the case via a single pivoting axis in a way that they cannot be detached.
This however entails the disadvantage that the case cannot be universally expanded; it is, for example, not possible to remove the holding parts and to exchange them for other holding parts.
Based on the patent application DE 38 37 829 C1, the invention thus relates to the object of refining a case for holding elongate objects of the type described above in such a way that it can be modularly expanded in an improved manner, that the manipulation is improved, and that the manufacturing cost is reduced.
The stated object is achieved according to the invention as characterized by the enabling disclosure of claim 1.
An essential feature of the invention lies in the fact that only the holding part close to the lid is mounted in a pivoting axis in the housing shell of the case, while the additional holding parts disposed in front of the holding part closest to the lid are connected to the respective closest holding part in such a way that they can be detached and optionally pivoted.
The enabling disclosure given leads to the substantial advantage that only the holding part closest to the lid forms a pivoting axis in the housing shell of the case, while the remaining holding parts located in front thereof no longer form an independent pivoting axis with the housing-side pivoting axis. Rather, the invention provides for the said additional holding parts attached in front of the holding part closest to the lid to be connected detachably to the respective holding part, preferably via snap-on connections.
In this way, a so-called “piggyback principle” is protected, which means that only the holding part closest to the lid has a common pivoting axis with the housing shell, while all remaining holding parts are connected to the said holding part closest to the lid in a way to be detachable and, if warranted, also pivotable.
When using two holding parts, therefore, the frontal holding part is pivotably connected and detachably to the holding part closest to the lid.
When using three holding parts, the central holding part is—as described earlier—pivotably connected and detachably to the holding part closest to the lid, while the most frontal holding part is pivotably connected and detachably to the central holding part.
The parts thus are connected to one another in the sense of the above described piggyback solution.
This results in the advantage that the holding parts are easily and universally exchangeable, since a refinement provides that the holding part closest to the lid is mounted detachably in the pivoting axis on the housing shell.
In this way, a snap-on connection is created permitting the holding part closest to the lid to be quickly taken from the housing and exchanged for another.
In this context, coincidentally, for one refinement it is preferred to have all parts (case shell, lid, holding parts, and the pertaining elements) constructed from a synthetic material. The use of synthetic materials has the substantial advantage that it becomes possible to save on separately mountable parts. Therefore, for the present exemplary embodiment it is preferred to provide that the carrier plate (bracket) linked to the upper pivotable end of the holding part closest to the lid be connected as single-material to the said holding part via a film hinge.
Equally it is preferred to have the connection between the said carrier plate and the lid designed as snap-on connection so that the holding part closest to the lid can easily be removed from the housing and exchanged by another one.
The same features are also present for the remaining piggyback holding parts disposed detachably on the frontal side of the respective subsequent holding part detachable.
A first embodiment provides that the said holding parts are snapped onto the respective preceding holding part in a way to be simply detachable and not pivotable, which results in a particularly simple snap-on connection.
One refinement of the invention, however, provides that the said holding parts be linked to the respective preceding holding part in the form of a pivotable snap-on connection so that they are linked to the respective preceding holding part in the sense of the described piggyback solution in a way to be easily detachable, though pivotable.
In this way, a modular structure of the case results, wherein all holding cases are easily exchangeable so that, depending on the particular application, it will be sufficient to dispose one holding part or a plurality of holding parts, and, depending on the particular application, a plurality of holding parts can still be added, because all holding parts hang detachably together.